CHAPTER XIII
THE RUNAWAY BOY
"Oh, papa, can't we go on to Lake Romano?" asked Nan, as she came upon deck with Dorothy, and saw the big wire fence stretched across thecreek to stop them.
"It doesn't look so--unless we can fly over that," and her brotherBert pointed to the metal strands that went from post to post.
"It does seem to hinder us," said Mr. Bobbsey. He was trying to thinkof what would be best to do. He looked at Mr. Hardee, who seemed tothink it all a fine joke.
"Papa, I know how we can get through," eagerly said little Freddie,who was holding Snoop in his arms. The big black cat was almost toomuch of a load for the little boy, but Freddie wanted her to do sometricks, and he held her so she would not run away.
"I know how to get past that fence," the little twin went on.
"How?" asked his father, rather absentmindedly. "How?"
"Just cut the wires!" said Freddie, as though no one but himself hadthought of that. "If I had one of those cutter-things the telephoneman had, when he climbed the pole in front of our house, I could cutthe wires and we could go right on up the creek."
"Yes, I suppose so, my little fat fireman," said Mr. Bobbsey. "But Idon't believe the man who put that fence up there would let us cut thewires."
"It's queer," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "That fence wasn't across the creekbefore, was it?"
"I don't know," answered her husband. "It looks as though it had beenput up lately--even last night, perhaps. But I haven't been along thecreek in some time, so I can't be sure."
"It wasn't here last week, that's certain," Captain White spoke. "ForI was up here then fishing, and I didn't see it. I fancy that Mr.Hardee knows something about it."
"I shouldn't wonder," agreed Mr. Bobbsey. "Now the question is: Whatare we to do? We can't go on through the fence, and we can't very wellgo around it, for the Bluebird won't float on dry ground. And I don'twant to go back. This is the only way to get to Lake Romano."
"I know what to do, papa," spoke Flossie. "We can ask that man to takedown the wires, if Freddie can't cut them with the cutter-thing."
"Yes, I suppose we could do that," Mr. Bobbsey said, slowly.
By this time Mr. Hardee had come closer to the houseboat, which haddrifted near to the shore.
"Will you take that fence down, and let us go past?" asked Mr.Bobbsey, as politely as he could.
"No, I won't!" snapped Mr. Hardee in reply. "No!"
"But we want to go on down the creek," explained the twins' father,"and we can't get past the fence."
"I know you can't!" said Mr. Hardee with a chuckle. "That's what I putit up there for. I strung it last night--me and my hired men. I didn'tthink you'd hear, and you didn't. Give you a sort of surprise, didn'tit?"
"It certainly did," and Mr. Bobbsey's voice was stern. "And I want tosay that you had no right to stretch that fence across the creek tostop my boat. You had no right!"
"Oh, yes, I had!" said Mr. Hardee with a sneer.
"This is a public creek," went on Mr. Bobbsey.
"Maybe it is, in certain places," said the mean farmer, "but here thecreek runs through my land. I own on both sides of it, and I own thecreek itself. If I don't want to let anybody go through in a boat, Idon't have to."
"Oh, so you own the creek here, do you?" asked Mr. Bobbsey, rathersurprised.
"Yes, I do."
"And you aren't going to let us pass?"
"Nope! That's why I strung that fence last night. It's a good, strongfence, and if you run into it, and try to bust it I'll have th' law onye!"
"Oh, you needn't worry that I'll do anything like that," spoke Mr.Bobbsey. "But why won't you let us pass?"
"Because of what you did last night--interferin' between me and myhelp. You wouldn't let me give Will Watson the threshin' he deserved,an' I won't let you pass through my creek. I want you to back up yourboat, too, and go back where you come from. I own that part of thecreek where you are now."
"Come now, be reasonable," suggested Mr. Bobbsey. "I stopped you frombeating that boy only because you were in the wrong. If you'll justthink it over, you'll say so yourself. And, just for that, youshouldn't stop my boat from going up the creek."
"Well, I have stopped you, and I'm going to keep on stoppin' you!"cried Mr. Hardee, again shaking his fist. "You can't get past myfence. It's a good strong fence."
"I--I could cut it, if I had one of those cutter-things, the telephoneman had," said Freddie, in his clear, high voice.
"Hush, Freddie dear," said his mother. "Leave it to papa."
Mr. Bobbsey was silent a moment, and then he went on:
"And so you strung that fence in the night, and won't let my houseboatpass, just because I stopped you from beating that boy?"
"That's it," the mean farmer said. "And for more than that, too."
"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Bobbsey quickly.
"I mean that you made that boy, Will Watson, run away."
"Run away!" exclaimed Mrs. Bobbsey, in surprise.
"Yes, run away," repeated the farmer. "He didn't come down tobreakfast this mornin', and when I went to call him to do the chores,he was gone. And, what's more, I think you had somethin' to do withhim runnin' away," went on the angry farmer. "You put a lot o' notionsin his head. You're to blame!"
"Now look here!" exclaimed Mr. Bobbsey. "We don't know any more aboutthat boy running away than you do, Mr. Hardee. If he has gone, I'msorry for him, for he may have a hard time. I'm not sorry I stoppedyou from beating him, though. Perhaps he is around the farmsomewhere."
"No, he isn't!" insisted the farmer. "He's gone. What clothes he hadhe took with him. He's run away, and it's your fault, too. I put upthat fence last night to pay you back for interferin', an' now I'mglad I did, for you're to blame for Will runnin' off."
"I tell you that you are mistaken," went on Mr. Bobbsey. "But if youfeel that way about it, there is no use talking to you. Then you won'ttake down that wire fence and let us pass?"
"No, I won't, and I order you, and your boat, out of my part of thecreek. Go back where you come from. You can't go through to LakeRomano this way!"
Mr. Bobbsey turned and looked at the wire fence. It certainly was astrong one, and the farmer and his hired men had worked well duringthe night. It was far enough off from where the Bluebird then was sothat the pounding on the posts, to drive them into the mud of thecreek bottom, was not heard.
"Well, I guess there's nothing for us to do but to go back," said Mr.Bobbsey. He felt very sorry, when he saw the looks of disappointmenton the faces of the twins and their cousins.
"Papa," said Freddie again, "if I had one of those wire-cutter things,I could snip that wire like the telephone men did."
"Yes, but we haven't one, little fat fireman, and we would have noright to use it if we had," said Mr. Bobbsey. "No, I must think ofsome other way."
"It's too bad," said Mrs. Bobbsey. "I wonder what has become of thatpoor runaway boy?" she asked.
"I don't know," answered Mr. Bobbsey. But, had he only known it, WillWatson was nearer than any one suspected.